Susan reviewed her book Gardening for a Lifetimehere,
as you know, and I had a chance to talk to Sydney Eddison on the NPR program On Point Wednesday morning. It was fun, though there was plenty of opportunity for intimidation.
Eddison has been gardening on 2 acres for 50 years; I’ve been fooling around
with my urban courtyard for 10. And then there is On Point—Tom Ashbrook has covered the 9/11 attacks, Vietnam,
China, Rwanda, and the Balkans as a serious journalist. I edit a lifestyles
magazine where we argue about pizza.

Everyone I know who listened was struck by Ashbrook’s
enthusiasm about gardening and our very different approaches to it. As Eddison
says, in the beginning of the show, about her early experiences, “I didn’t really
garden properly; I grew plants.” We can all relate to that. And I liked her
discussion of layering and of dry shade—which I know all about. We had more in
common than I thought we would.

There are some areas where I can’t follow her. I don’t have
the space, sun, or, really, the inclination, to convert to shrubs. And I’ll
never love Autumn Joy sedum. But, as Susan has already told you, the book is wonderful and an excellent resource for the beginning and experienced gardener
alike.